The Rescue
by Dalauranator
Summary: After Steve rescues Loki from near death, the Avengers aren't sure how to react to their old enemy showing up after so many years. Takes place a few years post-movie.
1. The Anniversary

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first Avengers story, and my first story on this site! If they seem a bit OOC, I'm sorry, because I try not to do that.

Rated T for some violence and swearing.

This fic takes place a few years after the movie.

The Rescue

Chapter One - The Anniversary

A gentle breeze blew through the slightly open window. The sun rose over the horizon, casting dawn's light across the city. Some of the early sunlight spread into the pale yellow room, where a lone form stirred in bed. Sitting up, the person watched the sunrise as the dark city began to light up, smiling to himself at the pretty sight.

Turning away from the window, Bruce stepped out of bed and made his way to the living room. All the Avengers had been living in Stark Towers for about three years now. After they had defeated Loki many years ago, they had separated, but had soon all met up and agreed to live in Stark Towers; assembled, just in case there was ever another situation that the Avengers had to fix.

Coming into the living room, Bruce spotted Tony pouring himself a drink, even though it was still early.

"Isn't it a little too early for that?" Bruce asked. Tony turned towards him, smiling.

"Don't you know what today is?" asked Tony, sounding very excited as he hugged Bruce tightly.

"Okay, why the crushing death hugs all of a sudden?" asked Bruce, even though he still smiled. He liked Tony. The man accepted him for who he was, helped to calm him down when he got pissed, helped with many science projects...

He was one of Bruce's only friends.

Tony released Bruce but still smiled. "It's a very important day!" he said again, picking up the glass and taking a drink.

"Uhh, Wednesday?" Bruce asked. Tony pointed to the calendar, and Bruce walked over, reading the date. February 6th. A normal day. Except, there was a small notice on the calendar for that day. A note, written in red and circled, read "Bruce's 2nd anniversery!"

Slowly, Bruce turned towards Tony, who still had the glass in his hand and the same stupid grin on his face.

"The second anniversary...?" Bruce asked, his eyes widening as he remembered the date.

"Yep. It's been two years since you've thrown a fit." Tony remarked, setting the glass down. "Two years since a visit from...'the other guy'."

"Two years? Has it really been that long?" Bruce smiled, glad that he had been able to control himself.

"IT HAS BEEN LONG, AND NOW WE MUST CELEBRATE!" Thor yelled from the hallway.

"Yeah, okay, ow." Tony complained. "Say it louder, I don't think anyone heard you all the way across the universe."

"What are we celebrating?" a voice asked calmly, and a moment later, Steve came out of his room, Thor walking in from the hallway.

"Today is the day!" Bruce exclaimed, walking over to the pair and leading them to the calendar.

"Oh, your anniversary!" Steve congratulated. "How could I have forgotten? It's a very important date!"

"Two years since a visit from our green friend." Thor chimed in, looking pleased.

"Aaand..." Tony continued, looking into the refrigerator and pulling out a cake. "We made sure to have a proper celebration."

"Aaaww...you guys didn't have to..." Bruce began, but Steve stopped him.

"It's important, and we're happy you learned to control yourself." the Captain told him.

The four were about to go to the table and start the party, but a moment later Natasha and Clint came out of their respective rooms, complaining about how "you were gonna start the party without us!".

The Avengers all sat at the table, talking and going on about how Bruce was doing really well.

Bruce was happy. For the first time in years, he was happy to be with his friends, happy to hear them congratulate him...

Happy to just be here.

A FEW HOURS LATER

"It's starting to snow again." Steve remarked, smiling at the white puffs falling from the sky.

"Again?" Tony asked, holding a half empty bottle of beer. The party had been fun, all the Avengers celebrating so much that Director Fury had called to complain, until Bruce excitedly informed him about what day it was.

"Yep." Steve replied, putting on a blue jacket. "I'm going for a walk."

"But Captain, the weather is rather cold at this time." Thor told him, but Steve put on a scarf anyway, picking up his shield.

"You're taking your shield for something as simple as a walk?" Tony asked, staring at the Captain.

"I never leave home without it." Steve replied, looking out the window.

"Isn't that a little obsessive?"

"Hey, you never know..."

Tony rolled his eyes at how Steve looked around nervously before stepping out into the cold outdoors.

Walking along the path, Steve smiled at the snow falling from the sky, watching the white puffs curiously. He turned to walk into the forest, and was met with a blanket of snow that covered the forest ground. Smiling at the sight, Steve strode throughout the forest, enjoying the crunching the snow made when he took a step.

Suddenly, Steve looked down and saw a strange substance in the snow. It was slightly hidden by the newly fallen snow, but Steve could see it: red.

"Is that...blood?" Steve asked to no one, one hand on his shield in case this was a trap. Looking forward a bit, the Captain noticed a trail of it, looking somewhat like footprints. As if an injured person had come by recently.

Following it, Steve looked down at all times to not lose sight of the bloody footprints. Spotting a small layer of vines and trees, Steve pushed through the plants, where he saw a clearing, covered by snow, but still a trail of blood, leading to a body laying in the middle of the clearing.

Steve recognized who it was. He didn't want to. He shouldn't have even helped, or been worried. But he was Captain America, who wouldn't leave anyone behind, no matter who it was. That's why he had been so shocked when he looked up and saw who it was.

"LOKI!"


	2. Unexpected Help

A/N: Thank you for all your positive feedback, because it makes me want to work on the next chapter!

Something I forgot to say, but you probably already know, I don't own anything.

xxxxx

The Rescue

Chapter 2 - Unexpected Help

As soon as Steve saw him, he rushed over to Loki, shocked by the broken form of his enemy.

In an instant, Steve abandoned all hateful feelings towards Loki, as he carefully picked up the unconscious body and ran as fast as he could to the medical center. The Captain wasn't even sure if Loki was alive, judging by the way he looked, but he ran anyway, determined to help.

Steve threw open the doors of the hospital, running in and screaming for help. The desk attendent quickly alerted the doctors, and two came out with a stretcher, where Steve carefully placed Loki. Bruce, who was working there that day, looked down to the body.

"Captain...this is..." he began, then looked to his assistant, who nodded, and the two rolled the stretcher away.

All the events of the day finally caught up to Steve, and, because of the trauma that just happened, he passed out in the lobby.

xxxxx

The next morning, Steve was woken up by someone gently ruffling his hair. He looked up to see Bruce, who looked very tired, as if he had had a very rough night.

The Captain sat up, realizing that he had been sleeping on the floor all night. Steve was about to say something when he remembered yesterday. Finding Loki, bringing him here, passing out in the lobby...

"Why am I on the floor?" Steve asked. Bruce turned to him.

"Well, you passed out, and nobody wanted to disturb you." Bruce replied, staring at the floor.

"How's Loki?"

Bruce looked up towards Steve, surprised that the Captain actually cared.

"Well, he's badly injured, but he will live." Bruce answered, staring at the floor again. "What happened?"

"Well, I went for a walk..." Steve began, remembering the events clearly now. "It was snowing, and cold...and I walked into the forest. I found a trail of bloody footprints, followed them, and found Loki lying in the snow. I wasn't even sure if he was alive, by the way he looked. I couldn't just leave him there. I don't know what happened, I just...felt like I needed to help him, despite all he had done."

"You're a good person." Bruce told Steve, standing up. "Even though he's done bad things, you care enough to bring him here."

Steve nodded, then stood up. "I should probably go back." he remarked. "The others are probably worried. Have you told them about Loki?"

Bruce nodded.

With that, the two separated, Bruce going to talk with some assistants, while Steve took the elevator back up to the Avengers' house. As soon as he walked in, Tony rushed over.

"Where have you been?" Tony shouted, throwing down an empty beer bottle. "You were gone all night!"

"I found Loki, brought him to the medical center, but then passed out in the lobby." Steve told him, going to sit on the couch. For the first time, the Captain now noticed Thor pacing around nervously, clearly worried about his brother.

He would never admit it, but Steve was worried about Loki too.

xxxxx

i_You tried to destroy them all!_

_How could you?_

_This will not go unpunished..._

_..._/i

The dream faded away as Loki faded in and out of consciousness. Slowly, he opened his eyes and found himself staring at a ceiling, not the sky, and on a soft surface, covered by a blanket, instead of laying in the snow.

Looking around suspisciously, he spotted a small table to his left, various papers piled up. To his right, he noticed a small bag with some sort of liquid in it, with a tube that was placed in the back of his hand. Staring at it, he was trying to figure out what it's function was, when the door creaked open.

Bruce stepped in the room, carrying a small orange tray. He looked around for a moment before he noticed Loki staring at him.

"I see you're finally awake." Bruce said, no emotion in his voice. Setting the tray on the table, he picked up a clipboard and began writing.

"What happened?" Loki whispered, hating the ruined sound of his voice. It made him feel so weak and vulnerable.

"Well, Captain America found you laying in the snow and brought you here. Saved you. If you were out there any longer you would have probably died." Again, Bruce had no emotion in his voice, and obviously didn't want to talk to Loki.

"Captain America?" Loki asked. "He...saved me?"

"Yes."

"...Why?"

"Because he's a good person. You know, if any of the other Avengers found you, they probably wouldn't have done anything. But, Captain...he's a good person. I mean, he remembers, from all those years ago, when you tried to take over the Earth, and yet, he saved your life."

Loki stared at the floor, thinking about the current situation. He was very surprised that Captain America had saved him, considering their history. He didn't notice Bruce still staring at him with those big brown eyes.

"In a while, you might have visitors." Bruce told him, and left the room, taking his clipboard with. Loki stared at the bag now, still trying to figure out it's purpose, but his thoughts kept drifting back to Captain America.

i_Why would you save me?/_i Loki thought. i_After all that's happened..._

_Why didn't you run?__/_i

xxxxx

It was around sunset when Bruce came back into the room. Loki knew he was there, yet he didn't look away from the window.

"You have a visitor." Bruce told him, and Loki turned away from the window. Bruce left the room, and Thor stepped in and glared at Loki.

Loki stared at Thor. He had never expected to see him again, but in a time like this, he would think that Thor would be concerned.

Thor didn't even look worried.

"Loki." Thor began. "What have you done..."

"Brother..." Loki started, but Thor glared at him again.

"You do not deserve to be my brother." Thor snapped, and left the room, slamming the door.

Loki sat there in silence. Even though he had said the same words to Thor so many times, he had never expected the other to say it back to him. Loki laid on the bed in defeat, feeling tears stream down his face. It was as if Thor had taken his hammer and smashed Loki's heart into many pieces.

Thor stood outside the door, hearing the sound of Loki crying from inside, but he did nothing but walk away.

Loki made no effort to calm down, instead sobbing into his pillow and wishing that the past years had never happened.

Sadness.

Sorrow.

Regret.

R & R please :)


	3. A Letter

A/N: Once again, thank you for all your positive feedback. I'm working on fixing the little things in the chapters that look wrong, so just wait for it to update.

While writing this, I was listening to Not Just You by Cody Simpson.

As usual, I don't own anything.

xxxxx

The Rescue

Chapter 3 - A Letter

It was well past night when Loki finally stopped crying. He knew that he shouldn't cry, but Thor's words had left him so dejected that he had to. He was glad that no one was around to see him, because crying was a sign of weakness.

Loki knew he had to do something to show the Avengers how much he regretted the past years. Looking to the side, he noticed a stack of paper, and a pen next to it.

He picked up the items and started writing.

xxxxx

"You said WHAT?"

Thor had come back after visiting Loki. When he walked in, Steve had immediately asked how Loki was and what had happened. That's when Thor told him exactly what he had said.

"I told him, 'You do not deserve to be my brother.' Because he doesn't." Thor told Steve. "No brother of mine would want to control the Earth."

"But, why say it like that?" Steve protested. "He almost died, he hasn't seen you in years, and that's the first thing you say to him?"

"What happened?" Bruce asked, walking in the door, finally home from work.

"Thor told Loki that he didn't deserve to be his brother." Steve told Bruce, while glaring at Thor.

"He said that?" Bruce exclaimed, coming over to where the two were sitting. Thor nodded. "You can't say that! He almost died!"

"He has said the same words to me for many years, and he has believed it for a long time." Thor countered. "If he says he's no brother of mine, than he will not be."

"But the way you said it was cruel!" Steve put in.

"He does not deserve to be my brother, so he is not." Thor said coldly, and left the room, leaving Bruce and Steve to stare after him.

"I know he almost destroyed the Earth, but that was cruel." Bruce began after several seconds. "After Thor left, I heard Loki crying. Didn't stop for a long time either."

"Loki was crying?" Steve asked, now feeling sorry for him.

"Yes. When I left, he was still crying."

"Can I see him?"

"If you want to." Bruce stood up. "I think you should go see if he's alright."

Steve stood up as well, and followed Bruce to the elevator, where they went to the hospital to check on Loki-

Wait. Check on Loki? Make sure he's alright?

Why did Steve, the leader of the Avengers, feel bad for _Loki_, the God of Mischief?

xxxxx

"I can't write this!" Loki shouted, crumpling the third copy of his letter and throwing it to the ground like the others. He had been trying, but the words just didn't sound right, they didn't sound sincere when he wrote them.

Picking up the first copy, he realized that this was the letter, the one that he wanted to give them. It just needed a few improvements. Taking a new paper, he copied the words from his first draft onto the new paper, with a few small changes here and there.

Finally finished, he signed the letter and folded it up. Placing it on the table beside him, he layed down on the bed and went back to sleep.

Sleep was finally peaceful now that the letter had been written.

xxxxx

"Oh, welcome back Doctor Banner!" the desk attendent greeted. "What do you need, because it is rather late?"

"Well, my friend would like to see Loki." Bruce told the attendent. "He was the one who saved Loki."

"Oh, of course!" the attendent told him. Leading Steve to a room, the attendent left the Captain alone, knowing that it would be important. Opening the door, Steve was greeted with the sleeping form of Loki, so he was about to leave when he noticed a folded up paper, with "For the Avengers" scribbled on the front.

Picking it up, Steve opened the letter and began to read.

i_To the Avengers,_

_If any of you come in during the night, take this letter. Take it to Stark Towers, where you can all read it. This is for all the Avengers._/i

Reading that small section, Steve took the paper and left Loki's room. He would definitley show this to the others.

xxxxx

Steve took the letter back to the house, where everyone was now gathered in the living room.

"Did you see him?" Tony asked.

"No, but he left this letter." Steve told him, handing Tony the letter.

Tony looked at the letter, the small section, then handed it back to Steve, saying "You read it. You're the leader."

Unfolding it completely, Steve started reading the letter to everyone.

i_To the Avengers,_

_If any of you come in during the night, take this letter. Take it to Stark Towers, where you can all read it. This is for all the Avengers._

_Now, I know what I have done in the past was wrong. I should have never done that. I don't know what I was thinking. If you could find it in your hearts to read my regrets, then I thank you. Inside this letter is a small section for each of you._

_Clint,_

_I have no idea what I was thinking when I messed with your head. At the time, I needed more people for my army, and you were the first person that I saw. For reasons unknown, I was happy about it so many years ago. Now, I truly regret it. I cannot believe how selfish and crazy I was so long ago. _

_Natasha,_

_I know you probably think very low of me, because of my past actions, and I don't blame you. I should have never hurt you or your partner like that. I know how you felt about Clint, but I had still possessed him. Now, I feel terrible about the whole thing and ask that you could possibly forgive me._

_Bruce,_

_Where do I begin? I know what I have done, and so do you. I was such a selfish power crazed freak back then, that I manipulated you. To this day, I regret what I have done. I know how you feel about "the other guy", and I should have never tried to control you like I did. I regret everything that I have done, and I truly hope that you will forgive me._

_Tony,_

_I know that even with my numerous apoligies, you will probably be the one to not forgive me. I nearly killed you so long ago. I cannot believe what I have done to you, and you most of all. If you would forgive me, I would be very happy about that._

_Thor,_

_No matter how many times I said you weren't, you are my brother. Even though we are not family, we grew up together and believed we were. I'd like those years to come back. If you could possibly forgive me, I would like to go back to the relationship we used to have. _

_And finally, the most important note, for the leader, for Captain America._

_I know that we don't have a very good past. I almost killed everyone in the Avengers, all for my selfishness. But, despite all that's happened, you still saved me. Why did you save me? Bruce told me that if it was any of the others, they would have just left me laying in the snow. But, why did you, the leader of the Avengers, save me, the God of Mischief? I am very thankful, but I do not understand why you would save me if you knew about our history. If you were kind enough to help me, I hope you would be kind enough to forgive me._

_If you have read this entire letter, then you will all know how horrible I feel about this whole thing. And if you do not forgive me, I will leave and never bother any of you ever again._

_With deepest regrets,_

_Loki Laufeyson _/i


	4. Welcome Home, Loki

A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you for all the reviews, favs, follows, good things to say! A small warning, this chapter contains some swearing. And, I'm sorry if it's a little OOC at the end, but remember that this is my first story here! So, sorry about that!

This chapter is a little longer than the others, mainly because...you'll have to read it a find out. :D

This is a little bit of a filler at the beginning, because it's their reactions to the letter, but it's important!

I still don't own anything :(

BTW, while writing this, I listened to a whole One Direction album. They're not my favorite band, but I still like them. :)

xxxxx

The Rescue

Chapter 4 - Welcome Home, Loki

All the Avengers stared at Steve as he finished reading the letter. They were all so shocked by the contents of the letter that none of them said anything for a few seconds.

Natasha was the first to break the silence, with "What the fuck was that?"

"It was his apology." Tony told her. "What's the problem?"

"As if that was sincere." she snapped, staring at the letter. "The little shit probably made this so we'd feel bad for him. I mean, just look at this. '_Now, I feel terrible about the whole thing and ask that you could possibly forgive me_.' There is no way he meant any of this."

"Now wait." Bruce put in. "I don't think he could fake this. I mean, no one could say '_I regret everything that I have done, and I truly hope that you will forgive me. _' without some sincerity."

"But he has lied in the past." Thor argued. "This letter means nothing."

"But he's your brother!" Steve protested. "He said it in the letter, right here: _'Even though we are not family, we grew up together and believed we were.' _He's finally accepted you as a brother, so why have you thrown it all away?"

"He has always said he was not my brother."

"But now he says that he is!"

"He has told me many times that we are not related and cannot be brothers. He should be happy that I have accepted this."

Steve was about to say something else, but Tony came out of the kitchen holding a bottle of beer, and he looked like he had something to say.

"Anyway, if you guys are _done._" Tony began. "We need to figure out how we're gonna deal with Loki. Where will he go?"

"I say leave him out on the street." Clint suggested. Natasha immediately agreed, until Bruce glared at both of them.

"We can't just do that." Steve put in.

"Why not?" Tony remarked. "He's done some pretty bad things, both to us and this Earth. No one can just apologize for trying to take over the world. 'Hey, I'm sorry I killed hundreds of people and tried to take over the Earth. Please forgive me.' It doesn't work that way."

"He's changed!" Bruce snapped, causing everyone to look toward him. Realizing this, he looked at the floor.

"Even if he has changed, he cannot go back to our home." Thor chimed in. "He has been banished."

"Well...maybe...he could, um, stay...here?" Bruce suggested, looking up from the floor.

"What?" Tony yelled. "I'm not gonna share my tower with _that! _How do we know that Loki means the words in the letter?"

"Because he cried last night." Immediately, everyone stared at Bruce again with looks of confusion.

"Loki was crying last night?" Thor asked, concerned now. Bruce nodded.

"After you left, I heard him crying. Steve tells me you told him that he doesn't deserve to be your brother. It made him cry for a long time."

Thor stared at the floor now, ashamed of what he had said. He had been cruel to his little brother. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he did not mean his words. But it was too late to change that now.

"We have to fix this." Steve spoke up. "I agree with Bruce, we could let him stay here. Maybe until he finds a place to go? I don't know. He might actually be able to join us."

"So, first you say that Loki will stay in _my_ tower." Tony began, setting down the beer bottle. "And now you suggest that he might be able to join us? Captain, when you were frozen, did it mess with your head?"

All the Avengers looked toward Steve.

"Okay, I have a better idea." Steve began after several seconds. "Whoever wants Loki to stay here, raise their hands."

Steve, Bruce, and Thor all raised their hands.

"So, Natasha, Clint, and Tony." the Captain continued. "You don't want Loki to stay." They all nodded.

"It's three to three." Clint pointed out. "How do we settle this?"

"Why don't we ask Loki if he wants to stay?" Bruce suggested. Steve gave him a thumbs up.

"That's actually a good idea." Tony praised. "We'll ask Loki tomorrow morning if he wants to stay with us."

Argument settled, the Avengers went to bed, hoping that their suggestion would work.

xxxxx

When Loki woke up the next morning, he immediately looked to the side, seeing no letter. Knowing that they had read it, he leaned back in bed and watched the clouds move across the sky, thinking about how lucky he was that Captain America had found him.

After a few minutes, Loki noticed someone open the door. Watching it curiously, he saw Bruce come into the room, followed by all the others, who gathered in the room. Loki's eyes widened.

"All of you..." he began, but Steve stopped him.

"We found your letter, and we were wondering, if you would like to stay at our home." Steve looked up at Loki, who appeared to be thinking heavily about it.

"You...you would really..." Loki started. "Why?"

"Because..." Bruce began, not sure _where_ to begin. "Because we want to help. We know that you have nowhere to go, so we were wondering if you wanted to stay at Stark Towers with us."

Loki looked at all the Avengers, not believing this. He _couldn't_ believe it. He had to hear them say it again.

"Are...you sure?" he asked. They all nodded.

Loki smiled, tears of happiness beginning to run down his face, but he hardly noticed. All he noticed was the Avengers offering him a home. A place to stay.

"Brother?" Thor asked. "Why do you weep?"

"I'm just...so thankful." Loki said. "And yes, I will stay with you."

Everyone looked to Bruce.

"Um, he was supposed to be released today..." Bruce told them, staring at the floor like he always did. "So...if you're ready to go..."

"Of course I'm _ready_." Loki said, standing up. However, he hadn't realized that he would be walking funny after laying down for a few days, so he tripped a little until Steve grabbed Loki's hand and helped him. Loki stared at Steve but didn't push him away as the two walked out in silence.

A little while later, the group had arrived at the home of the Avengers, Loki using his magic to put on regular clothes, but not his armor. As he was looking around, he noticed Tony staring at him and grinning like an idiot.

"What are you looking at?" Loki asked, giving Tony a strange look.

"I was just gonna say..." Tony looked to the others before continuing. "Welcome home, Loki."

xxxxx

THAT NIGHT

As it turns out, Loki liked it at Stark Towers.

There was a lot for him to do. He had explored nearly every part of the house, looking for new exciting things to do. At one point, he had walked into the garage, where he had observed Tony and Bruce working on a project. Bruce had smiled and waved to him while Tony had just pretended he wasn't there.

He had gone around trying to find everybody, but only half of the Avengers wanted anything to do with him. He couldn't blame them. However, even though half of them ignored him, the other half were nice to him and would talk a little bit.

Now, he was laying on the floor of the living room, a blanket thrown lazily over him. Tony hadn't wanted Loki to have his own room yet, so he had made him sleep on the floor out in the living room. Loki didn't mind. As long as he had somewhere to sleep, he was okay.

Meanwhile, Bruce was silently making his way to the kitchen for a small midnight snack, when he noticed something thrashing around next to the window. He stared in that direction, but still walked to the kitchen, using the moonlight to find his way in the dark room.

"No! Aaah!"

Loki sat up, breathing heavily and looking around nervously, before curling up on the floor and shivering. The nightmares had returned, and they were worse than before. It took all of his self-control to not start crying, and he was actually going to, but he didn't want to disturb the others.

"Loki?"

He froze when he heard the voice, looking around suspiciously before pulling the blanket over his head. He lifted it up when he heard someone walking towards him, and he felt ashamed for waking one of the Avengers.

Whoever it was, they sat down on the floor next to him, and Loki recognized who it was now that they were in the moonlight. Bruce.

"Loki, what's wrong?" Bruce asked, moving closer to Loki.

"It's...it's the nightmares." Loki whispered, moving to Bruce and hugging him for comfort.

Bruce froze for a second when he felt Loki hug him, as he was not much of a hugging person. But after a few seconds, he put his arms around Loki.

Loki stopped crying and shaking when he felt Bruce hug him back. He felt real comfort now that Bruce was there.

The two fell asleep together that night.

xxxxx

R & R please. :)

Sorry if the end is OOC. :\


	5. Fury lives up to his name

A/N: I get so excited when I see reviews. It makes me wanna work on the next chapter!

Thank you for all your good things to say, and thank you for not critcizing me!

This chapter is a little bit of a filler, but it's important!

I still don't own anything, last I checked. ._.

xxxxx

The Rescue

Chapter 5 - Fury lives up to his name

"What is going on here?"

Tony's yelling woke up Bruce. He looked around for a second, wondering what Tony was yelling about, until he looked down and saw that he was still cuddling with Loki.

"This isn't what it looks like!" Bruce shouted, blushing furiously. At this point, Loki woke up.

"You both better have a good explanation for this." Tony said, crossing his arms in an accusing way. Steve chose this moment to walk in, along with all the other Avengers.

"Bruce! What have you done with my brother?" Thor yelled in an accusing way.

Loki and Bruce looked to each other before separating and standing up. The Avengers stared at the two, waiting for an explanation.

"It was him! He started it!" Bruce told them, pointing to Loki. "He wanted me to comfort him and then hugged me."

"But you stayed..." Loki remarked, wearing his usual smirk.

Steve was about to say something about the whole thing, but was interupted by the phone ringing.

Tony walked over to in and answered it without checking the caller ID. Immediately when he answered it, the others could hear the yelling from the other end of the phone. It was Fury, and he was _mad_. Tony just stood there, listening to their director scream at him to get over to the base with all the Avengers, _and Loki_.

He was finally able to hang up when Fury stopped yelling. Turning away from the phone, he was about to notify the Avengers, but by the look Steve was giving him, they already knew.

"Does he want us over at the base because he found out about Loki?" Clint asked. Tony nodded.

"You mean nobody told him?" Bruce asked.

"Well,_ yeah_." Tony pointed out. "If we did, Fury would live up to his name. Which he probably will when we get over there..."

"Well, let's run away!" Clint put in, grabbing his bow and arrow and running into the elevator and pressing the buttons for a random floor. Natasha facepalmed.

"Well, I hope nobody else ditches Fury like Clint just did..." Tony muttered.

"No, we won't ditch him." Steve put in, stepping forward. "We'll show up over there, and give Fury a reason to let Loki stay."

"Are there any reasons?" Natasha asked. Bruce gave her a look.

"My brother has changed, and we will prove this to the director." Thor argued, now on Loki's side.

"We'll prove it." Tony said, leading the Avengers and Loki into the elevator. "We'll show him..."

xxxxx

A FEW MINUTES LATER, AT THE BASE

"Let's recap!" Fury shouted once the group had arrived and gathered at the meeting table. "Loki tries to take over the Earth. S.H.I.E.L.D. forms 'The Avengers' to stop Loki. He's defeated and goes away. A few years later, he comes back, AND YOU LET HIM LIVE WITH YOU! What the hell is going on in your heads? Do you _know_ who this is?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact we do." Bruce said, standing up. Him and Fury stared each other down.

"So, you're saying that you let a psychotic power-crazed murderer live with you?" Fury yelled.

"Something that you don't know, is that he's changed." Bruce argued. If looks could kill, Fury would be dead in an instant. "If he was still like that, wouldn't he have killed us all by now?"

As the two argued, Loki stared at the floor and stayed out of the fight until Fury called for him.

"Hey Loki, come over here." Fury called, and Loki walked over to him. Loki looked to Bruce, who shrugged, as if to say _Don't ask me_.

It was then that Fury grabbed Loki and pulled him into the next room. Steve apparently was _not_ okay with this, so he picked up his shield and stomed into the next room. Once that door closed, everyone at the base could hear the commotion on the other side. The agents that were walking along all stopped to hear the people screaming on the other side of the door.

If that wasn't enough, everyone in the building now heard crashing in the room, as if the people in there were fighting. With the screaming and crashing, it really made someone wonder what was going on in there.

After about ten minutes, the screaming and crashing stopped, and Fury stepped out of the room, followed by a very offended looking Loki and a very flustered looking Captain America.

"What happened in there?" Tony asked. "Were you attacking each other or something?"

"Well, Fury _did_ attack Loki." Steve explained. "He grabbed him, so I attacked him as well. Fury did something to Loki, but I'm not sure what it was."

"All I did was place a tracking chip in him." Fury countered. "So he won't run off."

Loki stared at the floor and said nothing, but looked a bit sad. Steve looked to Loki, feeling bad for the trickster.

"You didn't have to attack him like that..." Steve put in, but stopped when he saw Fury glaring at him.

"I needed to put in the tracking chip." Fury argued. "We don't want to take any chances. So, we have the 'Loki Locator'. We're not sure if he's safe or not."

"But he is." Tony put in, standing up and pulling something out of his pocket and handing it to Fury. Steve immediately recognized what it was, as well as Loki.

The letter.

Fury took a while to read it over, before looking up at Loki with a stunned expression.

"Did you mean all this?" Fury asked. Loki nodded. The director looked at the letter and Loki a few times before dismissing the Avengers.

On the way to their house, Steve looked at Tony with a smile.

"You helped Loki just so he could stay." Steve said. "You care about Loki!"

Tony looked at Steve for a few seconds, before turning away and looking at the floor, but not before agreeing.

xxxxx

A FEW HOURS LATER

After getting back home, Steve and Tony had went to the garage to talk about a new project, so Loki followed. As he walked in, he could hear the two guys yelling at each other. fighting about something.

"I'm just saying that you have to put this one first!" Steve was shouting, pointing to something.

"No, you put that in last!" Tony argued.

Loki saw what they were fighting over: the new weapon. Both boys were yelling about how to make it, but soon noticed Loki.

"Hey, let's see what Loki thinks!" Tony yelled, bringing Loki over to look at the weapon. "Which one goes in first?"

Loki looked down to see a bunch of pieces laid out on the table, next to a weapon that looked like a lazer gun.

"Um... I don't know. What do you think?" Loki asked.

"I told him that it was this one!" Steve hollered, pointing to one of the pieces.

"Well, why don't you try it and see what happens." Tony snapped, crossing his arms.

Steve picked up the piece and put it into the weapon. The weapon looked like it would work for a second, but soon caught on fire and exploded.

Tony was just standing there with a smirk. "Wow. I thought that when they enhanced you, they made you smart." he remarked.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT ME?" Steve screamed, grabbing Tony and shoving him against the wall.

"I said, when they enhanced you, they didn't make you smart!" Tony yelled, pushing Steve away from him. "I'm now wondering if they should have unfrozen you."

That did it. Steve grabbed his shield and stormed outside, not bothering to close the door.

"Oh, you and your shield!" Tony yelled to Steve, then turned to Loki. "I swear, if he does not have sex with that shield, I would be amazed."

Loki wasn't sure which side to take, but what got him and Tony's attention was the loud crash from outside.

xxxxx

_"I swear, if he does not have sex with that shield, I would be amazed."_ My favorite line in possibly the whole story XD It was inspired by "Greatest Freak Out Ever 17".

Now we're finally getting a battle scene, which I'm not that good at. :\

R & R please :D


	6. Panic at the Picnic

A/N: Thank you again for all your reviews! It really motivates me, and makes me update faster!

In this chapter, remember those robot thingys, because they will be important in the next chapter.

Even though the beginning is a battle scene and Bruce showing off his badassary, the other part is more of a friendship and bonding, then a bunch of assholes in the park.

Also, I'm sorry if you don't like short chapters, it's just always been that way with me. :/

I don't own anything.

xxxxx

The Rescue

Chapter 6 - Panic at the Picnic

As soon as he heard the crash, Tony rushed to look outside, where there were strange robots hovering in the air. And there was no sign of Captain America anywhere.

"Aw, damn..." Tony cursed, running to find someone. He now regretted yelling at Steve. Running through the house, he stopped at Natasha's room. He knew that she could help, she had all her weapons, so he opened the door.

She was with Bruce, and they were working on something. They seemed to be so caught up in their work that they didn't notice Tony until he got their attention.

"Tony? What are you doing in here?" Natasha asked. Tony never came in her room.

"I yelled at Steve, he stormed out, and now he's gone." Tony explained. "And there are really weird robot things out there."

"Well, it's a good thing we're done here." Bruce declared, standing up. Tony gave him a weird look.'

"And why is that?"

With that, Bruce activated the two bracelets he was wearing on each wrist, which, when finished, turned into guns that he wore on his arms.

"What is that?" Tony asked, interested in this invention.

"Well, it's my new weapon." Bruce told him, showing him. "It has a switch here so that they can be powered by either sunlight or moonlight, and they have many different settings. A lazer, a gun...anything. Natasha helped, because she's the weapons expert."

"Well, it may come in handy against those robots." Tony put in, gathering his team and suit and going to take on the robots.

Outside, there were over a hundred robots hovering in the air. Steve was still missing.

Bruce wasted no time. Aiming the new weapon at the group of robots, he shot a lazer at them, making many of them explode. From there, it was on. The Avengers against the robots. They were easy to defeat, but there were so many of them. If a group of them exploded, a new, bigger group would just appear. The Avengers were outnumbered.

Suddenly, a red, white, and blue blur fell from the sky. Throwing his shield, Steve took out over 50 of the robots, but there were still hundreds of them.

A blue light suddenly shot towards the group of robots. Over half of them exploded, raining pieces of metal into the snow. The remaining robots looked toward the source of the blue lazer, when it shot toward them again, blowing up the remaining army of robots.

The Avengers looked around for the source of the lazer, when they spotted Loki, standing there in the snow.

"Did you do that?" Tony asked. Loki nodded, wearing some kind of side-smile.

"With this." Loki showed off his scepter that he had used in past years. "It's pretty good, that's why I had used it against you."

The six gave him a look.

"What? I'm not using it against you now..."

Steve suddenly looked like he had a great idea. He whispered something to Tony, who seemed to agree. Whatever Steve had said quickly spread around the group, until all them knew the secret, which left Loki very confused.

"Well, what's the big secret?" Loki asked, playing with his scepter.

"Well, I came up with the idea, but everyone agrees..." Steve began.

"I don't." Natasha put in. Steve glared at her.

"_Most_ of us." Steve continued. "Anyway, I've thought about this ever since you came here...well, there's only one way to say it. Loki, will you join the Avengers?"

Loki looked at him in shock. Captain America, his former enemy, had just asked him to join the Avengers. Loki looked to all of them, who all smiled, except for Natasha.

"I...I will..." Loki stammered, smiling as much as anyone could. "Captain, I...I don't know what to say..."

"Don't say anything." Steve remarked. "I can tell from your smile."

xxxxx

A FEW HOURS LATER

The six, no, _seven_, Avengers were gathered in the living room, talking about their past and sharing stories. They were all assembled together and having a good time. It was as if Loki had always been there, he fit in so well.

"So, I'm making a new expeirement, and I sure didn't get what I expected." Bruce was telling a story. "I tell you, it was crazy. I mean, one moment, I'm testing levels of gamma radiation, and then the next moment-"

He was interrupted by the phone ringing. The seven of them looked toward it, but Bruce was the one to storm over and pick it up.

"What?" he yelled, knowing who it was, but not really caring. "I was in the middle of a story! We were getting to the good part!"

"I want the seven of you over here, now." Fury demanded, his voice like ice. Bruce suddenly became a little scared. He wasn't scared of that many people, but Fury sometimes intimidated him. "I know about your whole_ team-up _with Loki." With that, Fury hung up.

"Who was it?" Tony asked.

"It was Fury." Bruce told him, turning towards the group. "He wants us over there."

"Again? It it about Loki?" Tony remarked, rolling his eyes. "I swear, he's like a stalker."

xxxxx

AT THE BASE

"So you let him join?" Fury yelled, turning towards the group assembled at the table. "First you let his live with you, and now he's an Avenger?"

Loki was staring at the floor, rocking his chair back and forth, until he went too far and fell backwards onto the floor.

"Loki! Stop fucking about!" Fury shouted. Loki immediately picked up the chair and sat back down, not rocking anymore.

"Well, he helped us." Steve put in. "With his scepter..."

"The one that he used to use to kill people?" Fury snapped, glaring at Loki.

"He doesn't do that anymore!" Tony argued. "He's changed!"

"Yeah. I'll believe that when I see it." Fury told them, leaving the room and therefore dismissing the meeting.

"Well, _he_ might not believe that you changed, but most of _us_ do." Bruce told Loki, who smiled.

xxxxx

TWO WEEKS LATER

"I was thinking that maybe we could do something special." Steve suggested.

"Special? What do you mean by special?" Tony asked. They were gathered in the living room, discussing what they could do. There were no missions today, and it had finally stopped snowing so much, so Steve wanted to do something fun.

"I mean, like an outing." the Captain put in. "Like a picnic!"

Everyone agreed to this suggestion, talking like teenage girls about what park to go to.

"It's my favorite park." Steve remarked, pointing to one from the window.

"I could find us a spot..." Loki told them.

"Yeah, but that would mean you have to go out." Tony put in. "I'm not sure if people know that you're an Avenger."

"It's ok." Loki said, putting on a coat. "People would be afraid of me."

A FEW MINUTES LATER

Loki was walking around the park, looking for the best spot. It was cold out, but it wasn't snowing, and a few people walked by aimlessly, until a group came to the park.

"What is he doing here?" someone asked.

"Why is Loki in the park?"

"Where are the Avengers?"

"Why is he even living?"

With that, the group of people began to throw rocks at Loki, yelling at him to "_get out of our park and go back to your own damn planet_". Loki ran away from there as fast as possible, the people still chasing him and throwing rocks.

A few minutes later, Loki was back at Stark Towers. The Avengers looked toward him, asking if he had found a spot for the picnic.

"Well, yeah, but people threw rocks at me!" Loki complained, ashamed.

"Well, they don't know." Bruce put in. "When we go, oh man, we are gonna _tell _those people _why_ you're here, and they are gonna _get it_."

Bruce's eyes flashed green for just a second.

"Anyway, you found a spot, right?" Tony asked. Loki nodded.

"Well, I guess we could go on our picnic!" Steve announced, assembling the Avengers and gathering all the things.

xxxxx

A while later, the Avengers were gathered at the park, sitting on a blanket under a tree. When they got there, the group of people held up the rocks, until Steve told them about Loki, and they had gone off to do whatever average people do. The Avengers were in their group at the tree, chatting and sharing stories.

At least, they were having a good time, until the robots showed up again.

xxxxx

Ugh, the next chapter's gonna be really hard to write. The huge battle scene, the drama, and chapter eight will be hard too, with all that drama as well.

R & R please. :D


	7. How The Roles Have Reversed

A/N: I'm sorry that these updates are taking so long, but these battle scenes are hard to write. I don't know why I can't write battle scenes. I can go a little bit into it, but then my anxiety problems start. Well, you know what? I don't care. I can write these, and I'm just gonna ignore my anxiety problems. :D

Also, tomorrow is my birthday! :D

BTW, I don't own anything.

xxxxx

The Rescue

Chapter 7 - How The Roles Have Reversed

The robots flooded the air, hovering in the park. As the few people that were there took one look and ran away, the Avengers stood up to face their newest enemy.

A robot that was about five times the size of the others suddenly floated down, and seemed to focus only on Loki.

"The Avengers." he began. "You recently added Loki. But you know that he's not _really_ an Avenger."

"He is!" Steve defended, stepping in front of Loki and holding his shield. "Who are you to say that he isn't?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself." the robot leader continued, hovering in the air along with his army. "I am Kill-Bot, and I command my army of robots. We are _the_ robots, who will take over the world! And when Loki joins us, we'll be unstoppable! So, what do you say?"

"I...I'm not joining you!" Loki yelled, grabbing his scepter. "I'm with the Avengers!"

"Oh, okay." Kill-Bot declared. "You rejected us. Alright. But you're gonna_ wish _you hadn't."

"Hey guys, sorry I took so long." Tony said, showing up just then in his suit.

"I didn't even notice you were gone." Steve put in, while the other Avengers got ready.

"Enough of that! Now, I'm gonna ask you one more time." Kill-Bot readied his army of robots. "Will you join us?"

"I won't." Loki said defiantly.

"Very well."

With that, Kill-Bot summoned his army of robots, the little contraptions hovering in the air, and then they attacked.

It was on.

Steve threw his shield at a group of the robots, knocking the metal freaks back as a few of them exploded iun a shower of sparks. The remaining group picked themselves back up, activating their weapons and firing at him. Steve leaped out of the way, catching his shield and throwing it again, which took out the remaining robots.

Kill-Bot didn't look like he cared. With a wave of his hand, he summoned even more robots.

_Does he ever run out?_ Steve thought, throwing his shield again.

Meanwhile, Bruce and Natasha were working together, using their own weapons to hold off the robots. Clint was firing arrows at the contraptions, and Thor was swinging his hammer around and taking out those metal things.

And Loki was doing the best of all, using his scepter to shoot the robots.

Even though the Avengers were outnumbered, they were stronger than the robots, but whenever they took out a group, Kill-Bot always summoned more. It wasn't the robots the Avengers had to defeat. It was Kill-Bot.

Steve was the one to figure this out.

"We need to defeat the leader, the main source." he told Tony, who had just flown down from the sky after blowing up a couple hundred robots. "We need to defeat Kill-Bot." Tony nodded.

"We're gonna beat him down." Tony agreed, getting his weapons ready.

"Umm, I can hear everything you're saying." Kill-Bot put in, unfazed. "And I don't really want to be..._beaten down_, so..."

At that, Kill-Bot summoned more robots, which raised their weapons and began firing lazers at the duo. Steve leaped out of the way, jumping up and hitting the robots with his shield. Tony did the same, shooting the robots and blowing them up.

As more robots were summoned, Thor came to help Steve and Tony, using his hammer to hit the robots, the metal contraptions splattering into many pieces.

"Oh, this one." Kill-Bot remarked, grabbing Thor. "I'm impressed with_ this one_. I've seen my robots attack _it_, and_ it _just gets back up. Wow. Well, those robots weren't that strong. It's time to see what we can _really_ do!"

With that, Kill-Bot threw Thor into a building. Weilding a gun, the robot leader then shot the side of the building, so it fell over with a loud explosion.

"Thor!" Loki shouted, running from where he was fighting a bunch of robots. A group of robots attacked him, but he used his scepter to blow them up. He looked at Kill-Bot with a serious expression.

"Look, you may have destroyed the city." Loki threatened, coming closer. Kill-Bot backed away. "And, you may have unleashed your army of robots. BUT, you do NOT. HURT. MY. BROTHER."

Bruce came over from where he was fighting a bunch of robots and stood next to Loki. "Is that the signal?" he asked, raising his weapons.

"That's the signal."

At that, Bruce pointed the weapons at Kill-Bot as Loki ran to help Thor. Bruce stepped closer to Kill-Bot, who was already intimidated, but still but on a tough show.

"You think your stupid human tricks will work on me?" Kill-Bot asked, summoning more robots.

But they never came.

Kill-Bot stared in the direction that his robots usually came from. There were none coming. There were still a couple hundered hovering in the air, but no more showed up.

"Uh-oh."

Bruce shot a lazer at Kill-Bot, which caused a huge explosion. The remaining robots that were still hovering in the air exploded, and pieces of metal rained down.

"I think you're having a little too much fun with that." Tony told Bruce when the explosion cleared. Bruce nodded.

"Hey, look. The Avengers think they won." Kill-Bot put in from where he was laying on the ground. He was nearly destroyed.

"We _did_ win." Bruce told him, raising his weapons.

"Uhh, yeah, no." Kill-Bot pointed to a building. "That right there? Where your leader went in to save the stupid humans? Yeah. There's a bomb inside. It's gonna go off, and your precious captain will die."

At that, Kill-Bot exploded in a shower of sparks. Normally, this would be a good thing. But in the circumstances, it was a race against time.

The group of Avengers ran towards the building, as the people were running out. All the people were out.

Except for Steve.

Then the building exploded. All the people had run away, with none of them dead or injured, just a few frightened civillians. But there was always the one who didn't escape in time.

"CAPTAIN!"

xxxxx

A/N: I took too long to update. Sorry! But at least I did now!

The next chapter is definitley gonna be dramatic.

R & R please. :D


	8. Acceptance

A/N: AAAGH I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG

BUT IT'S HERE NOW SO

Ok, this is the second to last chapter, so I'm hoping to finish this story before school starts.

lol feels

I don't own anything.

xxxxx

The Rescue

Chapter 8 - Acceptance

As fast as he could, Bruce ran to the building. Calling the others, they all started picking up the rocks and throwing them to the side, trying to reach the Captain.

Finally, they cleared all the rocks away and found Steve, who didn't move.

"Captain!" Tony yelled, checking if he was alive. "Wake up!"

"He has to." Natasha agreed in a worried tone. "It's just a building. Wake up!"

But he didn't.

"Let me try something." Loki walked over and sat down beside Steve. Taking one of Steve's hands, he began a speech

"Captain, you helped me when no one else would. You let me join your team despite all the things i'd done in the past. You saved me." He looked around.

"And now it's time to return the favor"

With that, Loki began to glow a bright green, as well as Steve. There was a flash of light, and Steve was laying there looking at the others and very much alive.

"Loki." he began. "You saved me."

"_You_ saved _me_." Loki put in.

LATER

The Avengers had come back to Stark Towers after the battle. Now, they were all gathered in the living room. Almost all of them. Loki was in the garage pacing around and thinking.

"That was amazing." Bruce said from the doorway. Loki stopped pacing and looked up. "What you did today."

"Well..." Loki sat down on the couch and a moment later Bruce sat down next to him.

"You know, if someone had told me three years ago that you would be on our side, as an Avenger, I would have probably thrown them in a dumpster." Both laughed at Bruce's remark. "But now..."

Bruce picked up one of Loki's hands and held it. Loki looked down and blushed, but he didn't pull away. Instead, the two of them looked at each other, staring into each others eyes. For the first time, Loki noticed how pretty Bruce's eyes were.

"Loki, what is this?" Bruce asked, staring at Loki's wrist, which had many scars on it. "Did you do this yourself?"

"I...yes..." Loki admitted, suddenly ashamed as he looked at the floor. "But it was a long time ago!"

"You don't do it anymore, right?"

"I don't, but I've thought about it..."

Bruce took Loki's hands again and looked into his eyes. "You don't have to when you have us."

They both smiled at each other.

"Bruce...I need to tell you something..." Loki began, unsure if this was the right time. _It's now or never_, he told himself.

"Tell me what?" Bruce asked, looking at the other with those big brown eyes.

"Well..."_ It's now or never_, he repeated to himself. "For the small time I have been staying here I...ever since you comforted me that night I...-sigh- I started to have..."

"...feelings for me?" Bruce asked. Loki looked up to him with a worried expression.

"You're gonna Hulk Smash me now, aren't you?"

"...No."

Loki looked back to Bruce. "I knew now wasn't the right time. I mean, I don't even know if-"

Bruce kissed him.

Loki was surprised for a second, but soon, the both of them were kissing each other passionatly.

They soon seperated, and were back to smiling and looking into each others eyes.

"Well! That was quick!" Tony remarked from the doorway. Both boys turned to him, embarrassed that Tony had seen..._that_.

"You saw?" Loki asked, blushing. Tony nodded.

"Yeah. But I don't mind. You two seem like a good fit."

As soon as Tony left, the two were back to kissing.

"Let's see where this takes us." Bruce said once they had finished.

xxxxx

ONE WEEK LATER

"I don't get it! Why don't people accept me!" Loki walked over to the window and stared at the city below.

"It might have something to do with the fact that you killed a lot of them." Tony remarked. All the Avengers glared at him. "What?"

"The five of us..." Steve began.

"Six." Natasha corrected. Loki smiled.

"The six of us accept you."

"But the people don't!" Loki complained. "Nobody will accept that I've changed."

"You have to show them that you have." Steve put in. Loki looked like he was thinking about it for a second, and was soon hit with an idea that he shared with the others.

"That's a great idea." Bruce complimented. "But will it work?"

xxxxx

A/N: Epilogue will be up soon.

LOL FEELS ALL OVER THIS CHAPTER

R & R please :D


	9. Epilogue

A/N: I'm sorry about not updating, but this is the last chapter, so it was difficult to write, and school started, so...

Once the first few chapters have been written of my new story, "Stolen", I'll post them every week on whatever day I feel like.

So, let's get on with the epilogue!

xxxxx

The Rescue

Epilogue - The Speech

Loki paced around nervously, staring at the floor as he tried to figure out how exactly this was gonna work. It had been two weeks since he announced this idea, and the Avengers had said it was a good idea. Why was he so confident then, but not now? _This will never work_, Loki thought._ It won't work. They'll still hate me, kick me out of town, kill me, they would kill me, they'd-_

His thoughts were interuppted by the door opening, and a moment later, Loki's boyfriend, Bruce, stepped in. They had been going out ever since the battle with the robots two weeks ago, and so far their relationship was good.

"What are you so nervous about?" Bruce asked, coming to Loki and putting an arm around him.

"I can't do this! It won't work!" Loki shouted, sitting on a couch and reading over the speech he had prepared. "They won't believe me! I'll read it and they'll kill me!"

"They won't kill you." Bruce assured him, sitting next to the other and looking over the speech with him. "We all think the speech is good. I mean, even if you had told it to us when you were all screwed up, we probably would have believed you."

"Hey, if you guys are making out or something back there, you better hurry up and finish, because we're about to start." Tony remarked from the doorway. Bruce and Loki looked at each other for a second before following Tony to the main stage.

Outside, the entire town was gathered in a huge crowd, looking at Loki with anger. The Avengers lined up at the back of the stage, while Loki stood at the podium in front, and the town was silent.

"All of you." Loki began, reading the speech paper as the crowd stared. "I know that I have done some bad things to you. And I know that it will be hard to forgive. But, if you would just listen, I can prove to you that I have changed."

"Many weeks ago, Captain America saved me. He found me laying in the snow after a bear had attacked me." The Avengers looked at Loki in surprise. They never knew that he had been attacked by a bear. "He brought me to the hospital, when none of the others would have." The crowd looked to the Avengers, mainly at Steve with shocked expressions.

"Fast forward a few days. I leave the hospital, and the Avengers let me live with them. Of course, Director Fury didn't like that very much, so he put a tracking chip in the back of my head. But it's alright. Because he didn't care if I lived there or not. Anyway, after that, we had to fight a bunch of robots, and I helped." The crowd looked surprised. Loki helped the Avengers?

"That's when they asked me to join. It was simple, Captain America only saying 'Loki, will you join the Avengers?'" The crowd gave Steve a strange look. "They had accepted me, finally, and I joined them."

"About a week later, we went on a picnic, where many of you threw rocks at me and demanded that I leave this town. Halfway through the picnic, robots attacked us. We defeated them, but Captain America was nearly killed. I saved him that time, because he had saved me." The crowd looked to Loki, then to Steve, who nodded. The group now seemed less angry at Loki.

"After the battle-" Loki paused for a second, then motioned for Bruce to come over. The other walked over and stood next to Loki. "After the battle, Bruce and I admitted our feelings for each other." Here the crowd went wild. The fangirls cheered, the others were surprised but approving.

"I needed to find a way to get everyone to accept that I've changed. I needed to find a way to tell you all to forgive me. I needed to write this speech."

Loki stared at the crowd and they stared back. He looked away and at the ground sadly when he realized that it didn't work, but a moment later the crowd cheered, shouting out how they forgave and accepted him.

Loki was so happy that he was about to cry, but he wouldn't do that in front of everyone. Instead, he realized what he had been missing all of his life when he was evil and messed up. He realized what he had really wanted all along.

Acceptance.

And it was now given to him.

**THE END**

xxxxx

A/N:

*collapses to the ground with a thud*

IT'S DONE! IT'S FINALLY DONE!

A few notes for the ending...

Thank you all for supporting me and helping motivate me through my first Avengers fanfiction. Reviewing, following, favoriting, everything. I'm smiling right now as I write this, because of all the posive response and the fact that it's finally done.

And yes, Loki did get his punishment in Asgard, and was then banished to Earth. He was out in the forest and attacked by a bear. THERE YOU GO. YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO LOKI NOW.

I have a couple more fanfics planned, which I will get started on soon. One involves Captain America getting kidnapped, the other involves more Bruce/Loki relationship and a pregnant Loki. :3

As always, thank you for your positive words, and I'll see you next fanfic!

R & R please :D


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